


Little Turtle

by badjujuboo (miztrezboo)



Series: One Day Like This [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Canon Related, Family Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-24
Updated: 2014-06-24
Packaged: 2018-02-06 01:24:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1839295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miztrezboo/pseuds/badjujuboo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first of around five outtakes from the ONE DAY LIKE THIS VERSE that I'll be adding too from time to time. First, Beau's first day at school and the emotional rollercoaster that Harry and Liam go on for it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Turtle

**Author's Note:**

> (age wise - Beau is 4, Sarah is 11, Fiona is 16, Liam is 40 and Harry is 39)  
> If you haven't read ONE DAY LIKE THIS, then this might not make a lot of sense? But it's kid fic and it's fluffy so.. fluff... from me... HAHAHAH
> 
>  
> 
> For Moo who asked. Beta'd by the amazing Su.

**LITTLE TURTLE**

 

"I really don't think it's that fair," Harry whines, and Liam definitely doesn't smile as he crosses to the car, gravel crunching under his feet. 

"I can hear you smiling from here, you git!" Harry calls from the door of the house. Liam can tell without turning around that he has his arms crossed and the pout that hasn't left his mouth in _days_ is in full effect.

"Git's a naughty word, Harry!" Beau sings back from where he's bouncing up and down beside the car. He's throwing all sorts of kung fu shapes, or whatever it is he's picked up from watching cartoons of a morning. Liam can't believe that _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ is back in fashion again, with Beau begging for any and all related merchandise he sees. Harry indulges him the most; eBay has become his bloody best friend of late. 

Beau's bag bangs against his back as he kicks at the tire and throws his arms out with a war cry. Liam will be ever so glad when this particular phase is over. They saw Sarah through her first boy band and Fiona through her short-lived punk phase; they can get through this. Well, maybe not in one piece like they did the others. Beau's broken a window practicing with his "staff" and caused three holes in the walls using nunchucks that he wheedled Harry into buying for him - Liam nearly took Harry's credit cards away after that particular event.

"Not the tyres, Beau," Liam says, his voice tired. He unlocks the car with the press of a button. "Wave bye to Haz, now."

Beau karate chops the air a few more times before opening the door. He throws his bag in and jumps up on the seat to lean out and over the window, waving madly. He's got the biggest grin on his face as he calls out, "Bye, Uncle Haz! Bye, bye, bye!" Then he sits down quickly and puts his seatbelt on before Liam can say anything about his feet being on the leather. 

Beau's always been one to push the envelope when it comes to family rules, but Liam can forgive him today. He's been excited about his first day at school for weeks now, driving nearly all of them round the bend. If he's not running about the house in his uniform, he's showing anyone who drops by how he can tie his laces "just like a big boy, just like Harry said."

Which, of course, is why Harry isn't coming.

Harry, who ever since he decided to stop touring this year to prepare Beau for school has turned into a blubbering mess at the strangest of times. Liam caught him crying over a video of Beau's third birthday party at midnight. Another time it was sniffling in the laundry as he folded Beau's shirts - _"they're just so small!_ " Then last week it was putting Beau into a footed onesie and trying to rock him to sleep. Beau laughed the whole time until Liam had to prise Beau out of Harry's arms. It took an hour to calm Beau down and then another three with Harry, looking through all their photos of Beau when he was a baby until Harry finally fell asleep himself.

So, no. Harry isn't coming for Beau's first day at school. Harry agreed in the beginning, but as the date got closer he tried to convince Liam he could come without making a fuss. Liam didn't believe him, Sarah laughed whenever Harry brought it up, and Fiona refused to weigh in on the subject. The only words she _would_ say were, "First day of college, Uncle Haz," and Harry clammed up. Liam wasn't entirely sure _what_ that was about - because Fiona and Harry had always had their secrets - but he was fairly certain it was something embarrassing on all parts. 

Harry did stop whining a little less about them both taking Beau to school after that.

Liam did feel a tiny bit guilty about semi-banning Harry from Beau's first day. Harry'd become ever closer with Beau this year, and he was so great with Beau in the beginning. He took Beau to his nursery school when Liam couldn't. Harry spent extra time with him, helping Beau with his handwriting, getting his name down pat, and working on sight words and things. It makes Liam's heart ache in the best of ways when he walks past Beau's room and finds him and Harry cuddled up in bed with a book between them. Sometimes it’s some of Harry's old Spot and Mog books that Anne had sent down, or comics that Liam's mum had squirreled away waiting for him to have children of his own. 

Liam's busy enough raising the three who fell in his lap under awful circumstances, let alone even considering adding another to the mix. Not that he hasn't thought about it. How he has these links to the children that Harry can't . . . no matter whether he changes his last name or is on all their forms as a legal guardian. Gemma even mentioned something during her last pregnancy about loving being pregnant but being ready to stop adding to her own brood. Then again, it was hours after she'd had Owen so it was possibly the hormones talking.

Liam tries not to think about what she might have been offering with the way she looked between Liam and where Harry was holding Owen with the biggest, brightest grin on his face.

"Uncle Li, you need to turn the car on!" Beau says, still bouncing in his seat and shaking Liam out of his thoughts.

Liam leans over to check that Beau's buckled himself in, and Beau gives him one of those smiles where Liam can see one of his front teeth is finally growing back in. He lost it a few months ago and has been a little self conscious about it, refusing to smile widely and talking as much as possible with his mouth closed. Then Liam found photos of Ruth looking exactly the same at her age and Beau started telling _everyone_ how he looked just like his mum. It was one of those moments that made Liam miss Ruth and hold Harry closer when they fell into bed at the end of the day.

Liam starts the car, shaking off the weight on his shoulders, much to the delighted shout followed by fist pumps from the boy in the back. He chuckles and fits his hand over the passenger headrest as he reverses the car, looking back at the house for only a moment. Harry's there, one hand raised and the other wrapped around his waist. Liam knows there will be tears in Harry's green eyes. He's wearing Liam's navy pullover, because the house is always a little chilly in the morning, even in September, and he likes to wear things Liam has from the day before whenever he's a bit sad or poorly. He still looks fit for nearly forty, legs that go on and on encased in those skinny jeans he's never tired of. His curls shift in a bit of wind and he shades his eyes but Liam can still see his lips tremble, a line or two shining on his cheek from where his tears have fallen. 

Liam pauses for a moment, thinks maybe he should give in and let Harry come. The car idles at the gate and he can see Harry's head tilting to the side, probably wondering what's taking Liam so long.

Then Beau speaks up, kicking at the chair in front of him. "C'mon, Uncle Li, we're going to be late!"

"We've got plenty of time," Liam answers, still watching Harry in the rearview mirror. He could let Harry come and just stay in the car. He's possibly only putting off having to comfort Harry when he gets back from taking Beau in. They could go in together; Liam's still a little stronger than Harry, he'd definitely be able to drag Harry out, even if they cause a scene. 

"Uncle Haz will just cry, he's a big baby," Beau says, and Liam knows it. Knows that Harry's in tears now but it's nothing compared to the flood of them that would come once they got to the school.

Best to just drive and pick up some tissues before he makes the return journey.

He toots the horn three times before heading out the gate, Beau singing "Back to School" from Grease Two. He's been singing it nonstop since Sarah somehow let him watch the movie a few weeks back when Harry and Liam went out for lunch with Nick and David and left Fiona in charge. 

He's still thankful they got home before the reproduction song came on. There's no way Liam is prepared for having _that_ talk with Beau when he's this young. Liam still has nightmares about the time he and Harry sat Fiona down only to have her school _them_ on a few things she'd already picked up in her P.S.C.H.E. class.

It's a short drive to the school. The kids have all stayed locally, in the public system that Ruth and Jeremy chose in the beginning. There weren't many issues with paps and things; Harry had a good team of lawyers to sort any of those issues out. The lineup for drop-offs out front isn't too bad and Liam gets a spot not too far out which is great because there are three of the regular photo guys there. Liam addresses them by name as he walks around to let Beau out. 

"Just a quick few of your lad, Payno?" one asks, and because they've asked Liam nods. Sometimes it's easier to give them a little so they’re more likely not to take the ones he doesn't want. 

"No flashes, though, he's got to be able to see in class," Liam warns, and they smile so he hopes that's a yes. 

Beau bounds out of the car, still buzzing with energy, the moment Liam gets the door open.

"Excited about your first day, lad?" one asks, firing off a few shots.

Beau is bouncing on the balls of his feet as Liam locks the car. "Yeah! Did you see my Ninja Turtle bag, Gary?" he asks, spinning around three times and insisting that Gary take a photo. It won't be worth anything, but Gary's been following Liam for years; he'll probably drop a copy of it off at the house later that day. 

Gary's probably the best of the bunch. Even if he did take photos of them burying the bloody hamster and made out like it was something much more sordid.

They have a few more photos taken and Liam waves to a few of the mums he knows, happy when Sharon, Charlie's mum, turns up and insists they're going to be late. They aren't, but after years of play dates and run-ins and the local Tesco and such she knows when Liam needs rescuing and helps out. 

They get in the gate, with Beau and Charlie chatting nonstop the whole way there. 

"Thought Harry'd be here," she says, picking up Charlie's hat from where it's flown off after a particularly wild gesture of Beau's. "Didn't think he'd miss something like this. It's all he talks about when he pops by the salon."

Liam grins and reminds Beau to walk on the path. It's no secret to him how often Harry is down at the salon that Sharon works at. He's always needing a trim or having his bloody nails looked after, claiming it's for photo shoots and things. He really should think of other excuses, considering his band took a break this year. Liam knows it's purely so he can catch up on town gossip.

"He wanted to, but -"

"He's banned 'cause he cries doing the washing and makes Uncle Liam do scrapbooking with him," Beau interrupts. Liam stares at him pointedly but Beau's either forgotten that this particular look means to keep quiet about family business, or he's just showing off. 

"He calls me a baby - and I don't cry like he does," he whispers - as quietly as a four-year-old can - to Charlie. Liam coughs and wraps his hand around Beau's mouth, cutting off any further revelations. 

"I think your shoelace is undone, Beau, just wait a minute," Liam says, ducking down in front of Beau and hoping Sharon will walk on and let them have a second alone. 

She does and Beau stands still, tapping Liam on the head when Charlie calls out that he'll see him later. Sharon and her son have featured heavily in their lives since Beau started at a new nursery school last year. They've bonded over a shared love of dinosaurs, which shifted into pirates and now Mutant Turtles. They hardly argue, which is lovely, and Beau gets to have someone to share his secrets with like his sisters occasionally still do for each other. Guiding the girls through their teenage years has been a minefield for Liam that his mother just laughs at whenever he asks if Nicola and Ruth were ever like that.

Not helpful, but worse when Anne cackles with her, saying that Harry and Gemma were exactly the same.

It's no wonder Liam still uses those message boards he started out on when Beau was a babe.

"Uncle Li, my shoelaces are tied. I did it myself, just like Uncle Harry showed me."

Liam looks up, heat catching in his cheeks as he realises that Beau has caught on. 

"I know. I just want a minute before we go in," Liam says, and Beau grins, wide and still gap-toothed. 

"Was it 'cause I was talking about Uncle Harry? 'Cause Charlie won't say anything, he's really good at secrets," Beau says, his face serious as he pats at Liam's shoulder. 

Liam grins. Sometimes he forgets how much this little boy has grown up. He's not changed all that much in four years. His hair is still a mess of curls like Liam's was when he was young, but a bit more wild and dark - almost like Harry's, which pleases Haz no end even if he'd never say it. Beau’s eyes are still dark like Liam's and are always telling what mood he's in, but his nose is all his dad's, his cheeky temperament and affinity with animals Ruth's. Those eyes, though, they're the ones that get Liam the most because it's almost like looking into a mirror.

Like now, he can see how excited Beau is and a touch of concern most likely aimed at his uncle, who’s stopped him in the path for no apparent reason. 

"Yes and no. Charlie's your best mate, and best mates keep all the best of secrets," Liam answers with a serious nod that Beau returns all solemn-like.

"Charlie's the best! Is it 'cause you don't want me telling the other kids about our family? 'Cause Fi told me that already. That what happens at home is private and Uncle Nicky is just a bloke on the radio and not to talk about going to Sid's birthday party 'cause people know who Aunty Pixie is."

Liam wants to laugh. Of course Fiona's had a talk with Beau. He remembers Ruth having to do the same thing at her age, and then ringing Liam in tears of laughter because Fiona's only response was, "Who'd want to know anything 'bout Uncle Li's smelly pants?"

Two teenage girls in Sydney that one time, and another two in São Paolo and Wisconsin after that, prove different.

"Yeah, that's important, too. But you can talk about your family, Beau. Just -"

"Be choosy," Beau cuts in and nods, more obvious coaching from his sister from the sound of things.

"Yes," Liam adds with a nod of his own, tapping at Beau's shoe as he stands back up. 

Beau tugs at the straps of his bag, his eyes darting to the door where most of the parents and children are already headed into the room. It hits Liam hard and fast then, how much his little boy has grown up. That his little bundle of joy - screaming at all hours, always needing to be held, acute case of the vomits whenever Liam had a clean shirt on - has grown into quite the young man. Beau’s curls bounce as his foot taps, deep brown eyes still flickering between Liam and his class.

Harry's right. Liam just wants to bundle him up in his arms and take him home. He's too little to be leaving them. Too precious and small to be out of their sight for any period of time. Soon he'll be a teenager and then he'll be like Fiona, staring down her A levels and then university choices and leaving home and . . . oh god. 

"Uncle Liam, that was the bell. Can I go inside now?" Beau interrupts as Liam's mind spins out of control with thoughts of Beau coming home with a girl, then a boy, and then a baby of his own in his arms. Liam tugs at the collar of his polo. They can't possibly have the heat on in here at this time of year, can they?

"Uncle Li," Beau whines, soft and a little imploring as he stares after children entering the classroom. Charlie's waiting at the door and Liam can see that Sharon's in conversation with another mum who Liam possibly recognises from drop-offs and pick-ups at Beau's nursery.

They look cool, calm, and collected; so why is it Liam's considering tucking Beau under his arm and making a run for it?

"Beau, are you sure you’re feeling well enough for today? You were coughing a bit yesterday." Liam knows he's clutching at straws but there's something squeezing at his chest, a little like fear and a lot like worry. Beau's the one he really has brought up mostly by himself - well, with Harry - but without being a bystander as Ruth and Jeremy worked their parental magic. Beau is more like a son than Liam ever expected, and _Christ_ , how had Ruth and Jeremy done this twice before?

"Everyone's going in, Uncle Li! I don't want to be last." 

Beau's obviously ignoring Liam's question. He's bouncing now, taking steps toward his class and away from Liam.

Liam was wrong. He is in no way prepared for this. His eyes already sting, but when Charlie calls out for Beau to hurry up and Beau takes off at a sprint, calling a goodbye over his shoulder, Liam completely wells up.

"Beau!" he calls out, his voice rough as he blinks back tears. Maybe he can convince Beau to come home with him and forget school if they drop by that house on the corner that always has puppies for sale. A puppy over school will surely win Beau over. It's a _puppy_.

Beau turns, running back with a grin so big Liam can see how deep that dimple in his cheek is set. He wraps himself around Liam's legs with a quick, tight press and is off just as Liam brushes a hand over Beau's curls.

"Charlie's mum said you can go and she'll settle me in! Bye, Uncle Li! Bye, bye, bye!"

Like that, he's gone, the bag snapping against his back a little too big, covering most of his legs with only the top of his head and a few wayward curls flying up at the top.

He looks like a turtle. Like a tiny baby turtle. Oh, Christ.

With a blink, Beau's inside. Liam can feel that his cheeks are wet and he could really do with leaving so the paps don't catch this. He scrubs at his face quickly and slips his sunglasses on even though he's inside. Fuck it. He's a bloody popstar - well, ex - but his boyfriend’s still ridiculously famous, and Liam wrote and co-wrote ten top-twenty hits in thirty countries in the past year. He's earned the right to look like a twat once in a while.

He walks out at a brisk pace, feeling more than pleased when he finds the car park empty of the few photographers who were there before. He heads to the car and that lump in his throat expands with each step toward being clear of anyone seeing him like this.

To think he'd teased Harry about not being able to cope with dropping Beau off. Liam hadn't even taken him in the room, Beau had just left and hadn't even looked back. Not once. He'd not even properly hugged Liam goodbye, and Liam knows he can't go back in but he just wants to hold Beau once more. Just one more time have his little boy in his arms before he goes and turns thirty and stops hugging Liam back any more. 

He shakily gets out his keys and steps into the car, and it's all he can do not to start bloody bawling the moment the door shuts. He should drive. He should definitely drive out of here before any other parents come out and see him because he's short of breath now with how tight his chest is. All he can see on an infinite loop is Beau running into the classroom, that big bag slapping at his thighs and back, curls flying. He was so small. _So small._

Liam can't stop the tears as they start rolling down his cheeks now. He's got his phone in his hand and is choking back tears as he tries to get his shaking fingers to bloody swipe the screen unlocked. He manages - just - and from there it's a another age before he can get into his contacts. He's not above using Siri to call, but he's not entirely sure he'd even get a word out that she'd recognise at the moment, what with how he's sobbing now. Big, heaving sobs are wrenching hard from his chest and it’s a physical _hurt_. 

How he ever thought he was possibly ready to watch Beau go to school is beyond him. 

He's not ready. He's not ready at all.

Liam holds the phone up to his ear and tries to get his breathing under control while it rings. He doesn't have long enough, though. Harry answers on the first ring. 

"How was it? Is he okay? Was he happy enough to go? Was Charlie there? Maybe we should have waited until next year or home-schooled. I told you it wouldn't be hard, we could take turns, and . . . Liam? Li, are you all right?"

"Turtle," Liam chokes out. "Like a little . . . turtle!" He sobs harder as Harry sighs Liam's name like he understands.

Which, really, he does.

"I'll be there in ten, babe." Liam nods even though he knows Harry can't see. Not that it matters anyway because Harry's already ended the call.

Liam leans back into the seat and just lets the tears fall fast and free. It's absolutely ridiculous, how he's reacting to all of this. He didn't cry when Fiona started at college. He held himself pretty well when he left Beau at nursery for the first time - then again, he was mostly sleep-deprived. He didn't even check his phone a hundred times like he thought he would when Sarah had her first sleepover. (It might have been ninety-nine but he never really was great with maths.)

The point is, this is Harry's fault. 

When Harry finally gets there he announces his arrival with a few taps on the passenger window. He startles Liam from thinking about when Beau was two and would only sleep if Liam and Harry sang him the theme song from some advert on the telly - about coffee, of all things. With Harry's arrival, though, Liam's tears start up again and he leans into Harry's touch the moment Haz gets in the car and reaches out to him.

Harry smells like bread and the strawberry smoothies he made for them all earlier and that yummy cologne he's taken to wearing lately. Liam breathes it all in like a soothing balm as Harry pulls Liam's head into the crook of his neck, rubbing soft circles over Liam's back. He's making these soothing sounds like he does when Beau falls off his skateboard and doesn't actually get hurt but gives himself a fright more than anything else. It's silly that Harry's here and Liam's a bloody mess when it's the exact opposite that he was worried about in the first place.

"Did he go off all right? Were there problems with papz or something? Because I will call the school _again,_ " Harry says, obviously thinking of the possible wrongs that could have happened, nothing like Liam just becoming a mess over Beau purely walking in the bloody door of his classroom.

He shakes his head. "No, no. It was . . . he's just so _small_ , Harry. He's so tiny and his bag is so big and I don't . . . I don't remember the other two ever being this little. I don't remember it being so hard."

Harry shushes him some more. Thankfully, the tears have stopped falling, but Liam feels awful. He feels like someone's still squeezing his chest too hard and his heart, oh how his heart aches. 

"And don't say I told you so, because I get it, all right?" he says, grabbing at Harry's hand and squeezing their fingers together.

"I wasn't going to," Harry says, and Liam snorts. It feels good to lighten things up for a moment and he leans into Harry further as Harry pats at his back.

"You were, and you'd be right." Liam sighs. "I really didn't think it would be this hard to let him go. All I kept thinking about was how fast time has flown by. He was so little . . . so little when they died, and then I'm here. I'm taking him to school and all the other mums are at the door and I'm just his uncle. I'm the bloody make-do, because he hasn't got his mum any more. There are going to be kids asking him about his mum and dad, and he's going to have to tell them they’re gone. He'll have to explain about who I am, and who you are, and it's just - it's going to be so different for him, so very bloody hard, and who needs that? Why does he deserve that?"

He says all of this into Harry's shoulder and Harry doesn't stop his gentle touch on Liam's back, his hand slowly shifting up and down over Liam's spine. 

"You don't think Sarah and Fiona don't have to do the same thing all the time? Do you see them any worse off than most kids their age?" he asks softly, and Liam knows he's right.

"No, but they were older when Ruth and Jeremy died and they already had friends. They already had, like, mates to lean on and they still have that now. What's Beau have? He's got to explain about dead parents and then that he's been brought up by his gay uncle and his famous boyfriend and _fuck_." Liam can't breathe again. His heart hurts for a different reason because he can see this all playing out. He throws himself back into the driver’s seat and lets go of Harry's hand. He closes his eyes and wishes that he hadn't taken his glasses off when he got in the car because now he really looks like he's hiding from Harry. He is, but he's also hiding from himself.

He knows what it's like to be that little bit different. He knows what it's like to try so hard to be like everyone else but still have little shit kids finding _something_ to pick on you for. And what's Beau got? He's got a bloody ton of fodder for any little fuck who he even looks at a little bit wrong. He'll get picked on and bullied and Liam can't . . . he remembers, even this many years later, exactly how that was.

"He's not you, Li. He's not . . . he's brave and he's loud and he's not going to take shit from any kid who starts. He's proud of who he is and his family and he doesn't see anything wrong with that - and neither should they," Harry says fiercely. Liam's nearly forgotten how that conversation went years ago when he told the lads how he'd been bullied when he was young. That touching was difficult for him when it was why he'd been given bruises before. 

He knows Harry's right, because Beau _is_ all those things, but it still doesn't stop Liam's heart from racing. "I just hate that I can't protect him any more. I can't make sure he doesn't hear what people say about us, about our life. I can't _protect_ him, and it's -"

"It sucks," is what Harry interrupts with, his hand shifting over Liam's but not doing anything more than resting on top of it.

Liam's gut twists because Harry hasn't hesitated to touch him in so long and now, because of what Liam's said, he is. As if today could get any worse.

"You know - you know I've always said to you that if it came to us being an issue with the kids, I'd go. That I'm not just here for as long as you want me, but as long as it's okay for them. If this, if us -" He stops, and Liam can hear the emotion in his tone.

This is Harry breaking apart as much as Liam has, but for an entirely different reason. This one, this is all on Liam and he's got his eyes open, twisting his hand over to slide into Harry's without a second thought.

Harry's eyes are red at the rims and glassy as he bites at his bottom lip, the skin chapped and raw from where he probably had a bit of a cry once Liam and Beau left. For such a tall fellow he looks awfully small in the car, here with Liam's jumper on and his hair a tiny bit longer than normal, curling soft around his ears. So much for all the trims he keeps getting at Sharon's salon. 

He's so gorgeous and Liam loves him so much. "You're not going anywhere, you knob," Liam chokes out, tugging Harry against him this time, and Harry falls into him like a rag doll. "I love you, the kids love you, and no matter what happens or what shit is said I'll always bloody love you and so will they. You're _family_ now."

"Idiot," Harry says, somewhere against Liam's chest.

Liam grins and runs a hand through Harry’s curls, soft and silky beneath his fingertips. Maybe it could be a good thing having the kids all in school. It means the house will be empty for a good stretch of the day. With Harry still off on hiatus from the band until the end of first term, it means it'll be the two of them, alone. Alone in the house.

That's not exactly something that happens often.

Liam's breath catches when Harry rubs his face to the side and gives a rough press over where Liam's nipple is a tad sensitive below his shirt. Alone in the house. Whatever will they do?

"Your idiot," Liam answers, and Harry huffs in reply. 

"Do you want to head home? Or we could -" Harry starts, and, well, Liam's face feels hot for an entirely different reason.

"We could . . . ?" he pushes, and Harry sits up, a huge smile lighting his face. His dimples deepen and his green eyes flash with excitement.

"Well, I packed a bit of a picnic and our old DSs in my Rover. We could just hang here until school finishes and be the first in line to pick him up. That's not _too_ weird, is it?" Harry says, and Liam has to laugh.

So maybe they'll make use of the empty house another time. This is only the first of many days when all three of the kids will be in school.

He pokes Harry in the shoulder softly. "You planned this, didn't you?" Harry shrugs but his cheeks pink up and Liam continues. "You were going to leave me at the house when I got back and go to that 'meeting' you've been talking about all week - and that 'meeting' was here, wasn't it? You were going to stalk our Beau!"

Harry looks at his lap and yeah, he's definitely blushing. "I wouldn't have stayed _all day_. Just for a few hours before we were due to pick him up. It's quiet here; I could have written some songs for all you know!"

Liam rolls his eyes and squeezes Harry's hand in his. "Come on, then, let's go see who's still the better driver at Mario Kart."

"I brought those crisps you like, too. But I might have eaten them when you made me stay at home this morning."

"You know that's a little bit petty, right?"

"Like you didn't purposely change my alarm this morning so even if I wanted to I would have been ready too late to come?"

"Harry."

"Liam."

"Have you quite finished?"

"I have."

"Then let’s go."

 

: : : Later : : :

 

If maybe they're the first people at the door waiting to collect children from Reception, nobody says anything. Most probably because a few star-struck mums are asking for Harry's autograph. If neither of them can hide their tears when Beau comes running out of the door, calling their names at the top of his lungs, then sunglasses indoors become a thing again as Beau hugs them both hard where they're kneeling on the floor. If the one picture Gary does sell that day is of them walking with Beau between them, hand in hand, looking at each other over his head with stupid smiles on their faces, then that's not altogether too bad.

If Liam has that particular picture framed and put in his office and Harry has a copy that he sticks on the inside of his guitar case, it's nothing more than because it's a good shot.

It is their family, after all.


End file.
